Updates

Body Fat: On Saturday it occurred to me to have myself remeasured. I checked the interweb and discovered the dunk tank truck was right down the street from my house. Twenty minutes from the moment it crossed my mind I had my new numbers....I am at 18.3% Body fat and my lean mass has increased by 2.75 lbs! That is .4 lbs of muscle per week of Crossfit. I am thinking this is really good...but now I weigh more. I am still trying to decide if I care about this....

Nutrition: I am doing well with the no sugar/treats so far. I have had a couple things sweetened with fruit juice and some Iranian bread that probably had sugar in it, but overall no problem. I am now eating protein right after working out and adding egg white to smoothies.

Goals: My major performance goal is also coming along nicely. I plan to accomplish all the "Level 1" skills by March. I can now do at least 3 unassisted dips, one dead hang pull-up, a 1:45 400 M, and a slew of other less impressive movements like 50 free squats in a row. I have been trying to chose a weight and leanness goal but am not sure what it reasonable and moderate. I am going to meet with Jess the nutritionist to get a little help with this. I would like to be at 14% BF. If I stopped gaining muscle today that would mean I need to lose 6-7 pounds of fat, which seems really do-able...hmmm. I am looking for a long term maintainable goal, so hopefully I can get the expert advice I need in the next week or two.

Soccer: I played in last nights game for the first time since breaking my toe and I feel like I had a great game. I was a little more tired than I remember being last fall, but I felt strong. I was even asked if I had been training...I said, "Yes, Crossfit!"

Early Morning Class 7:00am

With my new job the evening class is usually not an option so I have started going in at 7:00am. This means I have to leave the house by 6:40ish, and for me that is early. I find that I am not as with it and certainly not as flexible as I am later in the day. Plus I am SUPER hungry! I forget about that once the WOD starts but during warm up I am mostly not listening...Okay, anyway, today was my first time doing "Fran." I am not sure I should get to say I did it because I had to do jumping pull-ups and I only did 25K/20K. I started with 55lbs but Sean bumped me down after the first set of 21 thrusters. Sad Face :( I hate it when I am not able to do as much as I want to...but at least I know I am playing at my edge. My time was 5:35. My 2K post workout row was really slow but hopefully it got some of the lactic acid moving. I anticipate lots of soreness 2 days from now. I would really like to make it in to the gym 5 days a week but that would mean 6am classes! That is a lifestyle change I am not sure I am up for...we will see, I can feel the addiction taking hold. Also, I have discovered that getting yelled at really helps! I could have probably benefited from getting yelled at more as a child, it makes me think I really can do it if someone is shouting at me that I can. On Monday yelling helped me get a new military press PR, 29K! I was thinking that was hot stuff until Dave informed me that I should be able to do my body weight and "brachiate" like an ape...fun things to look forward to!

The Inspiration

Back in January of 2010 I saw Avatar, (January 14th actually as documented in my journal) and it awakened a sleeping part of myself. I am going to call that part of myself "WARRIOR." I was completely engrossed in the film. It had me thinking and feeling differently for days, no weeks. I was struck by how joyfully physical movement was portrayed. It was like I could feel that state of health and strength in my own being somehow. I wanted that feeling to be real. I started thinking about what that type of fitness would mean for me and how I could get it. I made a list of things I wanted to be able to do...real pull-ups and push ups, bench press my own weight, run FAST, jump high, do gymnastics exercises, ride dragons...and off to 24hour fitness I went! (and as a side note I also invested in IMAX...the 3D on this movie really blew me away to the point I was saying things like "it's the wave of the future" again and again). I purchase a 6 month membership and got a personal trainer. I went often (106 times in that six months) but did not ever get close to what I was really looking for. Two months into that 6 months I heard the word Crossfit and looked it up on the internet...low and behold other people had come up with the same list of things they wanted to be able to do. They get to together and they call their work Crossfit. I couldn't believe it I was so pleased that my dream existed "out there." I talked to Dave at Level 4 and knew I had found the desire of my heart! I still had to finish at 24, and get the dollars together (see previous post) but now I am fully engaged in the pursuit of my dream and in one word "Grateful." Yep, very, very, grateful for Crossfit and Avatar, also very, very sore! I also appreciate the social/human/cave person aspect of working together in groups with out headphone, tv, magazines or mirror. That's what they would do on Pandora!

One Month Anniversary

I started at Crossfit Seattle on December 4th but it seems like no time at all has passed. I have been having so much fun and learning so much. It hasn't seemed hard like so many other changes I have made in life. I would say it was much easier that learning to floss everyday. I guess I was really ready for this addition. I just show up and my workout is great and rewarding every time!
Above is a picture of me doing the "12 Days of Christmas" WOD, I am supposed to be touching my knees to my elbows. Wouldn't I make a cute monkey? I am seeing some muscle development in my back and arms now, which is encouraging, and I am starting to remember some of the other monkey's names that I hang out with. Yeah for good clean fun!